This is my Personal Blog

Ginger Toivonen, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I am responsible for its content. Stampin' Up! does not endorse the use of or contents of the classes, services, or non-Stampin' Up! products I may offer here.

12/07/2017

Hello Peeps! I am so excited to share what I have been creating the past few days. The Stampin' Up! stamp set Christmas in the Making is perfect for the Stampin' Blends. If you have not had a chance to play with them, all I can tell you is that it truly is relaxing. Here are some of my creations.

We have our Red Hat dinner tonight and this card is for the gal whose name I drew. Her favorite color is blue so of course, I colored her dress with Night of Navy Stampin' Blends.

I also tried the same scene with different Stampin' Blends. Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends were my color of choice. for the next card.

And finally, Pink Pirouette Stampin' Blends.

Usually Bermuda Bay would be my favorite. How about you? Which one speaks to you? Please leave a comment below with your choice.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and remember that if you have any questions about my creations, I am only an email away.

06/07/2017

Although it has been a long time since I posted, I am thrilled to be able to share a post using new product from the 2017 - 2018 Annual Catalog. A Pocketful of Sunshine was a Bundle that I knew I wanted.

This card came together quickly - which seems to be the way I need them lately! For most of us, as the weather improves and the kids are out of school, it seem like things get more and more busy. We are off to babysit in the morning but we will be returning on Thursday. Yes, I know a really quick turnaround.

This card is for my son and daughter-in-law. We thought that a little extra money might be helpful because they are heading to a Def Leppard Concert. From the time Chris was a teen, he has loved Def Leppard. So, the opportunity to hear them in person was just to good to pass up.

And, Stampin' up! was so accommodating to create the Pocketful of Sunshine bundle just in time for me to use it for my card.

Please check back again. My intention is to post at least a couple of times a week. My order arrived on Monday and I now have so many fun things to share. Stay tuned....

01/31/2017

It has been awhile since I posted on my Blog. But, I have something very special for you today! A free card class where you will learn how to make 12 adorable cards suitable for a variety of occassions.

Stampin' Up! trainer, Brandi, shares how to make 12 supercute cards using the Carried Away Designer Series Paper from the occasions (spring/summer) catalog. Package all of your cards in an adorable tin you can get for FREE when you make a qualifying purchase during Sale-A-Bration (January 4-March 31, 2017)! Contact your demonstrator or visit stampinup.com to learn more.

12/09/2016

Our Red Hat Stampers group had a fun Chrismas dinner on Wednesday night. Although it was frigid outside, we had a delicious dinner and a truly lovely evening. In addition to cards & gifts that we exchanged, I gave each of the ladies and additional small treat.

It is always fun to include a little extra treat for all of those special occasions. These are so quick & easy to make. I cut an 8" x almost 2" piece of Cherry Cobbler Card Stock and punched both ends with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. After scoring this strip at 3-3/4" & 4=1/4", I attached 2 Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares. Glue Dots are definitely your best friend for this.

Stamp the gingerbread ladies found in the Cookie Cutter Christmas Stamp Set with Early Espresso Ink & punch out with the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch. Also, stamp the cute little bow from the same stamp set with Cherry Cobbler Ink & punch out with theCookie Cutter Builder Punch. Adhere the bow to the Gingerbread with a Stampin' Dimensional & the gingerbread to the holder with Stampin' Dimensional.

Stamp the sentiment from Cookie Cutter Christmas with Early Espresso Ink & trim to size.Adhere thisto the holder with with Fast Fuse. Loop any ribbon through the top and tie off with a piece of Whisper White Baker's Twine. Add some sparkle to the ladies with a few Rhinestones for buttons. definitely a quick & fun addition for any occasion!

12/07/2016

Although I have not posted for awhile, I am excited to be back today with a fun post. Please read to the bottom and I will explain my absence. Thursday night is my Stamp Club Christmas Party and I always try to make it special for my ladies. The project that we will be making is a super cute card using the bundle Santa's Sleigh. Wouldn't it be fun if I could create a 3-D sleigh for a table decoration? After some fiddling around, I was able to create a big enough sleigh to hold 5 Ghiradelli Chocolates.

The sleigh did not require much product. I cut the sleighs for the 2 versions from both Gold Foil & Real Red Card Stock using the Big Shot & the Santa Sleigh Thinlits. The new Big Shot Platform combined with the Precision Base Plate makes these easy to cut. Of course, the Die Brush is a must have for cleaning out all of the bits and pieces.

In order to get the sleigh pieces for both sides of the sleigh, it is necessary to turn your Gold Foil over so that the white side is face up. Place the Sleigh Thinlit on this side & cut. Repeat with the detailed sleigh thinlit. Because the Real Red Card Stock is double-sided, you don't have to flip it over.

The Fine-Tip Glue Pen is the perfect adhesive for applying the Detailed Sleigh to the Sleigh Base. I also created a small box to set between the sleigh pieces to hold the Ghirardelli Squares.

And here is the gold on gold sleigh.

After returning home from babysitting for our daughter & son-in-law in Salt Lake City about a month ago, we discovered a leak in the hose connecting to the pump from our well. Unfortunately it had been leaking for sometime and we did not know it because it is in our basement. But, feeling wet carpet is always a sign that something isn't right. You know that sick feeling when you realize that you have a problem but don't know where it originates..... The water had gone through the wall and under the carpet in the Big Room & part of a bedroom.

Thankfully our daughter & son-in-law arrived that night and Jason took control of the situation. He located the leak, repaired it, cut the carpet and removed the ruined section of pad. I was thankful to have multiple fans because they ran nonstop for several days. I am pleased to report that the carpet dried out, and we were able to get the pad replaced and the carpet restretched and seamed.

Although the carpet situation delayed posts to my blog, the continued absence is because I am desperately trying to complete 4, 12 x 12 scrapbook albums for the Grandchildren in time for Christmas. The scrapbooks will hopefully preserve memories made this past summer of our trip to Southern California. Between sorting through pictures taken by 4 different people, ordering pictures, creating pages, separating photos for each child, journaling and so on, my time has been totally taken over!

But, the countdown is on and after the albums are finished, I will be back to share with my peeps. Please don't give up on me and please wish me luck with this mammoth project.

11/06/2016

For those of us that have been on Daylight Savings Time, did you remember to turn your clock back? It always is a bit of an adjustment for me when we change back. How about you?

My card today is in preparation for Christmas. As a former teacher, I just had to try the Chalkboard Technique with this fun stamp from Wonderful Year.

It is remarkably easy to do. Just stamp the sentiment on Basic Black C.S. with White Craft Ink. Then randomly sponge to give the appearance of chalk dust. That is all there is to this technique.

Do you ever look at a finished card and think - oh, I should have done xxxxx to my card? It happens to me all of the time! On this card, I think, oh I should have used Wink of Stella on Santa's hat - specifically on the fur. Hold on a minute please, I am going to do it and will be right back. I applied Wink of Stella & it gives a nice shine on my card but it does not show up on the photograph. But, if you make a card like this, I would use the Wink of Stella, if you have it.

On another note, I will be babysitting this week which means that I won't be posting until the weekend. I have been attending a scrapbook retreat all weekend (sleeping at home) and leave for Salt Lake early in the morning. I am working furiously to finish 4 scrapbook albums for our 4 grandchildren from out trip to Southern California this past summer. Wish me luck! I have a long way to go on the albums.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! If you need any of the supplies used to create my card today, just click the picture of the item below to be taken to my On Line Store. Please remember that if you have any questions about my cards, I am only an email away and I truly look forward to chatting with my blog readers.

11/03/2016

The excitement of learning that I was a winner last week with Global Design Project #59 is still giving me goosebumps! I did not know that my card was selected a winner until my sister called to congratulate me - thanks Barb & thank you to the Global Design Project Team for selecting my card!

Of course, when I saw that this week was Case The Designer & the designer is my friend Brian King I just had to create a card for this challenge.

Here is the card that we are CASE-ing of Brian's. CASE-ing with the Global Design Project means Copy and Selectively Edit - So you could be inspired by the layout, colours, stamp set, whatever you like! Here is the project -

Whisper White mat 2 - 3/4" x 4", stamp the sentiment from Build A Birthday with Flirty Flamingo Ink near the top of the mat,

Stamp the ice cream cone from Biggest Birthday Ever on a scrap of Whisper White c.s. with Soft Suede Ink, stamp the ice cream from the same stamp set with Flirty Flamingo Ink on a scrap of Whisper Whits c.s., stamp the cherry from the same stamp set on a scrap of Whisper White c.s. with Real Red Ink & fussy cut the 3 pieces,

Arrange the ice cream cone so it lines up with the right side of the Soft Suede Mat, trim the bottom of the cone to match the c.s. Attach this piece to the card,

Pop up both the ice cream & the cheery with Stampin' Dimensionals ,

Add a trio of Flirty Flamingo Enamel Shapes to the bottom left of the card.

Add a Whisper White c.s. mat to the inside. Decorate with a strip of 2016 - 2018 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack (Flirty Flamingo)

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was making the Tin Of Cards for my Daughter-In-Law's upcoming birthday. In addition to the cards in the kit, I am adding some more. Birthday cards are always nice to have on hand - especially with 2 boys who seem to attend a lot of birthday parties! Stay tuned tomorrow for another kids birthday card.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! If you need any of the supplies used on my card, just click the picture of the item below to be taken to my On Line Store.

11/02/2016

In about a week, my Daughter-In-Law Jamie will have a special birthday. After racking my brain about an appropriate gift for Jamie, I finally decided that the Tin of Cards filled with not only the cards that come with the tin, but also a sprinkling of additional assorted cards would be a hit because Jamie loves handmade cards but has no time to create them.

After completing the cards that were included with the tin, I believe that the cards are much nicer than they appear in the photos from the 2016- 2017 Annual Catalog. The colors are richer and the embellishments add a nice touch to the assortment of cards.

Because of the vellum layer it is difficult to take a photograph that does this card justice. In person, this is a lovely card.

Thank you cards are a staple and I now that I would appreciate having some on hand. Hopefully Jamie will feel the same way.

Generic birthday cards work for male, female, children or adults. This is such a bright and festive card that I feel Jamie will use these up in a hurry. Guess I better create some more birthday cards to include in the tin!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. If you need any of the supplies used to create my cards, just click on the item pictured below to be taken to my On Line Store.

Stampin' Up! makes creating fun & easy - especially because they encourage us to c.a.s.e. (copy and Share everything) from the catalog. And, that is just what I did with this card. It can be found on page 27 of the 2016 -2017 Holiday Catalog. I considered using Crumb Cake c.s. but it does not provide the warmth that the Kraft c.s. provides.

Thanks for stopping by my Blog today! Just a reminder that the Stitched Framelits are available today!If you have not heard about these framelits and the sale, click stitched framelits post for more information.

10/31/2016

STARTING NOV. 1 you can purchase the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies ahead of their official release in the 2017-2018 annual catalog. I love the sweet edging the dies create and classic shapes that coordinate with Stampin’ Up! Layering Squares, Circles and Ovals Dies.

Check out the “stitching” the dies create on the “for you” layer!

HOW DID THEY DO THAT? I have been asked how Stampin’ Up! created the rectangle from a square “stitched” die in the sample above. Here’s what my Upline shared with me as well as photo tips Here:

Line up the framelit on your paper so one end of the framelit and the paper are off the platform. You only want to cut three sides of the square. Run it through the Big Shot.

Rotate your paper and carefully line up the framelit with the cuts of the first run. Make sure that one end of the framelit and paper are off the platform, so it doesn’t cut a line down the middle of your rectangle. Then run it through the Big Shot.

10/29/2016

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought that this challenge would be the perfect opportunity for me to create another Halloween card.

This is a nice card for anyone who does not like ghosts, goblins or spooky characters. The trio of pumpkins are quite friendly and shouldn't scare anyone! And, they help to connect my scene to my sentiment. Can't beat double duty!

Here's the sketch that prompted my card. Obviously I took some creative options with the sketch but that is allowed. The sketch is a starting point to help get the creative juices flowing.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Please remember that if you have any questions about any of my creations, I am only an email away and I truly enjoy interacting with my Blog Readers! I was short on time the last couple of posts, but I promise to get back to providing more detail on future posts.

If you need any of the items used on my card today, just click on the picture of the item below to be taken to my On Line Store.

10/28/2016

Who can resist a fun challenge that involves animals? I just had to give this one a try!

Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stackprovides a luscious backdrop for my swing. It looks just like I am looking out of a window.

Unfortunately it was dark when I took my picture and it does affect how the colors appear in my card. In person, my card has a nice warm feel which is perfect for my sentiment. I just love the idea of the dog sleeping on the swing waiting for someone special. The pillows with a pop of Marina Mist add some color to the landscape & make the swing look more inviting.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! If you need any of the supplies used to create my card, just click on the picture of the item to be taken to my On Line Store. Please remember that if you have any questions about any of my creations, I am only an email away and I thorough;y enjoy chatting with my Blog Readers.

10/27/2016

Welcome to the last challenge from the Pals Paper Arts (PPA). I am honored to be the designer for this sketch and I encourage you to play along. Because the sketch is simple it allows for a wide range of interpretation. Please consider joining us for the last challenge.

Here is the sketch.

As a former Math teacher, straight lines and angles are just part of my history. It was natural when designing a challenge to fall back on that history. And, the Moroccan Designer Series Paper fits right in with my sketch. If the sketch looks complicated, try looking at it as one piece of paper that has 1 diagonal cut. Separate the 2 cut pieces and you have the sketch!

Ginger's Snaps:

Very Vanilla card base 4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2"

Emerald Envy & Early Espresso Mats,

Moroccan Designer Series Paper

Stamp the sentiment from Endless Birthday Wishes with Emerald Envy Ink between the 2 sections following the slant of the paper,

Mat a strip of matching Moroccan DSP on a strip of Emerald Envy Card Stock & attach to the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by my Blog today! If you need any of the supplies used to create my card, just click on the picture of the item below to be taken to my On Line Store. Please remember that if you have any questions about any of my creations, I am only an email away and I truly enjoy chatting with my Blog Readers.

Use the Bell Punch to punch 2 bells from Presents & Pinecones Patterned DSP, attach at the bells at the top, tie a bow with Black Solid Baker's twine & attach to the top of the bells with a Glue Dot,

Coil Black Metallic Thread & adhere to the back of the bells, pop up with Stampin' Dimensionals,

Stamp the sentiment from Seasonal Bells on Whisper White C.S. with Emerald Envy Ink, use the Bunch of Banners Framelits to cut it out. Pop up with Stampin' Dimensionals,

Add a strip of DSP & C.S. to the inside of the card.

It might be fun to add some Wink of Stella to the bells & perhaps a couple of Rhinestones or Enamel Shapes to the sentiment banner. What do you think? Should I recreate this card with those changes? Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by my Blog today! If you need any of the supplies used on my card, just click on the picture below to be taken to my On Line Store. Please remember that if you have any questions about any of my creations, I am only an email away & I truly enjoy chatting with my Blog Readers.